Small
by Moka-girl
Summary: In which Will doesn't have Layla as a best friend, has no powers yet, and his parents think him unable to live up to their legacy. He becomes withdrawn, as this impacts his psyche more deeply than anyone will ever realize. Some people can't survive loneliness intact, instead, they will just... break quietly. (Anorexia/Neglect/Angst - Rating will go up! - Story in short drabbles)
1. Chapter 1

A story in which Will does not have Layla as a best friend, and becomes more and more withdrawn, impacting his psyche more deeply than annyone will ever realize. Some people can't survive loneliness intact. Anorexia/Neglect/Angst , amongst others.

-x-x-x-

The little boy is young, his long chestnut coloured hair hiding his eyes from view. Had it not been for those bangs, his eyes would've been visible. Those after-mentioned eyes are of a roundish almond shape, their shade a light brown. Currently, they are half-lidded with boredom, surveying what is happening in front of him.

There is something in his eyes, something in his face, that speaks of exaggerated pride, of arrogance. Perhaps it's the way his mouth curls just so, or how his long, aristocratic nose, better suited on the face of a man from the nineteenth century, wrinkles in distaste at the sight of his classmates, who are squealing at one another like pigs.

Cattle, the lot of them.

… Sometimes, I think back on my childhood and realize how fundamentally different I was then, and how much I've changed now. I try to put my feelings into words, explain the actions of the child I was then, but I can't. Not in a way that'll make it understandable. Because what I did, in my childhood and during my teenage years, was wrong. But I try, I try to tell my story, to convey it.

Everyone is excited today, because they will be showing off their science projects in a few minutes.

When the teacher first announced it, explaining what they would have to do, Will felt a flutter in her stomach. They would grow beans at home, and the one that made their plant grow the highest would win. Will was confident: she often spoke with her parents' gardener. She could already see herself showing off her marvellous plants, everyone awed at the sight.

And here she is now, waiting for the stupid teacher to allow the class to retrieve their projects. Will's is in a plastic bag, next to his chair, and he is happy to not that it's bigger than all the others.

Miss Cook is telling them about how plants need sunlight to become green. Danny, the boy sitting in front of Will, pushes his plant backwards with his leg, hiding it behind his schoolbag. Will notices that the plant is almost completely white, and it looks quite sickly.

Will wants to tell Miss Cook about how badly Danny's project looks. He wants to take out her own, and proudly boast his knowledge, telling them all how it should be done to have one as good as his.

Except he doesn't.

Despite his best wishes, Will can't talk to his fellow classmates. He tries, he tries so hard, but he always trips over his words, tongue tied, and he can't make his mumblings interesting enough to keep anyone's attention. Only the adults listen, and they do so out of politeness.

"Very well," says the teacher, clapping her hands. "Time to show off your lima beans, guys!"

Will doesn't like the woman's smile. It speaks of condescendence. Sometimes, he hates to be seen as nothing but a stupid child, like the others.

"You'll go alphabetically, okay? Now, first up is Marie Anders!"

If there is one hated thing he must mention, it's when something is done by alphabetical order. 'Stronghold' is never amongst the first to be called.

Nevertheless, Will allows himself to enjoy the sight of his classmates, his tormentors, presenting their plants to the teacher. He knows his own is better, much better. It has to be.

And then, it's Layla Brice's turn, and Will learns how to truly hate when she presents a plant that, impossibly, is twice the size of his own.


	2. Chapter 2

It was eight o'clock in the evening, and Will was hungry.

I'll never be hungry again, he told himself.

In the kitchen was today's dinner, nearly ready. They were eating chicken tonight, in a white, creamy sauce with bits of salty, tasty roast bacon and fresh parsley. White, blemish-free rice was being cooked in a pan, and the grains were moving in exotic swirls amongst the water. Will could imagine rice in his plate, and the sauce being gently poured on it, with the meat, and the delicious smell. It was his favourite dish.

To it, he said goodbye forever.

He was thirteen, and had finished growing. We eat to grow. He wasn't going to grow anymore, so he would eat nothing but the minimum. Only what he needed to live, to endure. It was like an adventure, discovering a new, wild and untamed place to was yet to be explored.

Before that, he had never had the slightest secret. He had never kept an information to himself.

Of course, he had had desires, but this was new. And with this, came a plan. First, clean his pockets. His cool pockets, full of wonders. Out came the snickers, the cereal bars, the jelly beans, as well as the dollars given to him by his parents to buy a snack at school, if he got hungry. His plan was to stop using that money to buy food, and with the accumulation of it, he'd be rich soon enough. Not only would he gain money, but he'd be able to buy gifts for people, too. Two birds, one stone.

.

As soon as Saturday morning comes, he's hungry. He dresses, and prepares croissants for breakfast. The smell makes him salivate. When he brings up the pastries to his parents, saying he did specially for them and _no_, he doesn't want any, because after all, it was done as a surprise for _them_, not him, well when he says that, he feels strong.

.

His plan works perfectly. Eating is not done as much as he used to, and he feels a measure of control, knowing he has the strength to do this. His father wouldn't be able to do it; he likes eating waaay too much, but for some unfair reason, never gains weight. It must be his super powers that give him a special body. Will wouldn't know; he's just normal.

He is walking with Joey, a close friend with a porcine face and bulging eyes. His mother doesn't approve of Joey, but Will likes him, because Joey always listens to him.

Unlike what he would normally do, today he doesn't confide in his friend, and he doesn't divulge his secret, the fact that he has decided to stop eating. He keeps it to himself. He wouldn't want Joey to try copying him, like he always does when Will does or says something interesting. Will feels as if every person he'd tell his secret to would be tempted to do the same thing, and that would mean all his efforts would have been for nothing. The interest of this secret, what attracts him to it, is that he is the only person who had the idea to do it. He is the only one who thought of stopping eating, and nobody will take that from him. Never.


End file.
